I got a little distracted writing other things, so you’ll have to forgive me for being a bit late. On the bright side, some interesting news cropped up while time went by! I found what appears to be a preview image for season 2, which implies heavily that Rook somehow becomes not crazy by the end of this season. I can’t confirm it’s authenticity, but it’s cool to look at! Also, Karakuri pointed out to me that they’re making a game. I wish I knew where they were getting all this mad bank from…

Things are all going according to plans for Rook, despite the fact that he hasn’t killed off any of Kaito’s pesky comrades yet. He enters the next stage of his plan, which mysteriously coincides with the Principal going missing. Both Jikugawa (his lapdog) and Kaito (his adoptive son) don’t know where he is. Nonoha finds it a bit weird that Kaito knows so little about his adoptive father, but he doesn’t seem very concerned. All that matters to him is that he remembers his real parents and how nice they were to him. Just as he starts reminiscing blissfully, he gets a message telling him to go to the same puzzle that killed his parents. Talk about pouring salt into the wound.

This week’s suffering brought to you by: Rook!

Where Kaito goes, his friends will follow. This is just a fact of life. They all take the train to the cave, comforting Kaito on the way. However, no amount of pep talk could have prepared him for what he’s about to learn. The Principal appears from the shadows and he lays it on thick. Not only is he part of the POG, but Kaito’s parents were as well. In fact, they weren’t even his real parents – they were just instructed to look after him and groom him to be a powerful Phi Brain child. The Principal shows him video proof on his terminal, which Nonoha promptly throws into the chasm. It’s not enough to protect Kaito from the truth though, and the damage has been done.

Rook looks on with a look of horror that quickly turns into a smirk. He may not have been able to separate Kaito from his friends, but he’s separated him from his family. Kaito starts to have a meltdown, but the Principal forces him to listen to him further. He explains that the POG didn’t used to be bad, which is why he and Jikugawa became a part of it. It was only after Count Pythagoras took control that they moved from building harmless puzzles to protect treasures into trying to solve the God’s Puzzle. The Principal wanted to act as a double agent and play along with what the POG wanted until Kaito solved the God’s Puzzle so he could then destroy it and stop the forbidden secrets from getting out. However, he had no choice but to betray them at this time and tell Kaito that his fake parents really did love him, that he must beat the POG, and that Jin (his old friend!) must be rescued from the POG’s claws.

First I was like….but then I was like….

To really drive his point home and make Kaito recover from the devastating blow he gave him earlier, he shows him a video of his parents celebrating his birthday (presumably on his monitor, since Nonoha threw Kaito’s into the pits of hell). Kaito’s parents are loving…confirmed. Phi Brain mode ACTIVATE! Kaito breezes through the puzzle and does a victory pose at the end. He had to “free the puzzle” and “avenge his parents.” The puzzle collapses after he completes it, leaving Rook standing there flabbergasted at the results. His only small victory is capturing the Principal for treason, but otherwise, he’s lost the upperhand.

..Okay, now how do I get out?

Bonus Baby Footage:

Cubic: Child Prodigy at Solving Puzzles and the Art of Being a Tsundere

The POG used all their budget making season 2 and cannot afford guns to threaten people with.

“It’s okay, Kaito. I was madly in love with another person who spent their free time talking to puzzles too.”

Huh, I actually didn’t laugh as much as I thought I would. I think it was only at the end where Kaito was screaming to the heavens about puzzles that I started to crack a smile. It’s becoming a running joke that Kaito ends each episode shouting “ROOOOK!!!” in the assumed direction of the camera that Rook ALWAYS has set up somewhere. Other than that, this week was pretty serious. I have to admit I wasn’t expecting Kaito’s parents to be members of the POG and not blood-related, but that blow was swiftly softened since they actually loved him. Although, just because someone is in the POG doesn’t mean they’re bad. Shouldn’t Kaito be over that kneejerk reaction of hatred by now? It sounds like before Count Pythagoras took over the POG was a perfectly legitimate organization who basically took commissions to make puzzles. We, the viewers, already knew Jikugawa and the Principal were in the POG, so it was kind of annoying to have to sit through that explanation all over again and see Kaito get riled up over it. RELAX, THEY’RE THE GOOD GUYS.

This episode very quickly resolved the issue of Kaito potentially being raised as an unloved experiment like Rook (kind of lame that it happened so fast), but it brings up another question. Who were Kaito’s real parents? Right now if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say it’s Jin. Don’t know who the broad is, but Jin is the only one of the appropriate age other than the Principal. They may very well keep that truth under wraps though, and I might prefer it that way. Let Kaito suffer a bit from never knowing who his real parents are! He has it easy compared to Rook, anyways. I was getting ready for Kaito’s childhood to be a mirror of Rook’s, but that certainly wasn’t the case. Kaito went through puzzle training, but he was loved. Rook went through puzzle training, but was kept behind bars. I doubt anyone gave him extra strawberries on his birthday cake or a nice present (Hmm, what did he get for his birthday? A puzzle? A puppy? A PONY?!). Rook may be a murderous, delusional man with good intentions gone awry…but I still feel bad for him. Okay, yeah, I laughed when he sputtered “ai” (love) because he sounded like some otherwordly creature trying to grasp foreign human emotions. I know they’re trying to tell us that his emotional capacities are stunted but I think he should at least know what love is unless he has a legitimate mental dis-….Oh….<_<

The drama shouldn’t be over yet, because we still have to see how Kaito soaks this in and handles it in the next episode. He may have triumphantly solved the puzzle, but I’ll bet he’s still a bit shaky. He’s pretty volatile, after all. I’ll also be curious to see if it was just a coincidence that he was able to retain his emotions during Phi Brain mode this time. Usually he goes dead silent aside from a few words, but he had a whole inner monologue about how he felt the burning need to avenge his parents. Not quite the type of thing that would spring from someone using only the technical aspect of their brain, no? Then there’s the drama with his friends. Gammon should still have some sort of grudge to get over (hence the sword fight in the preview? lolololol) and there was some *symbolism* about Kaito growing farther away from his friends. I’m still waiting for Kaito to finally accept his friends, and I will not start harping on about that until he does! Cubic is practically in heat over him…Dude needs to realize not all friends need to be a guy named “Rook.”

Preview: Antoinette is back! Is she back to challenge them again? Probably, since the POG is like the mafia and you can’t leave without getting a finger cut off or something. If so, I have no idea who she is challenging since everyone seems to be in action this episode. But I do know that at the very least Kaito and Gammon have a light saber battle for the sake of puzzles. Brilliant.

13 Responses to “Phi Brain – 17”

You know I rather enjoyed this episode. And I had the same thought about Jin…. in that little flashback he even kinda looks like Kaito. The parents thing shocked me, I wasn’t expecting that. And I think Rook can join the ‘in heat about Kaito club’ with Cubic. Those faces he was making while watching Kaito XDDDD

Usually when Phi Brain tries to take the serious path, I end up laughing more than usual. But luckily this wasn’t the case, and I was also surprised about that twist. Well, the drama was over for me when Kaito starting talking to the puzzle in order to free it. It’s Phi Brain after all XD

Right now, I’m pretty curious on Pythagoras. He seems to be the real villain in the story, but maybe he won’t appear until next season. He must be a devilish genius, right?

By the way, next episode looks interesting. I miss the comedy, so I hope it brings those funny moments this show got us used to!

Kaito should seek therapy for reliving all horrible memories of his “parents'” death and everything he’s learned. So it turns out Rook’s tower wasn’t the first Fool’s Puzzle he was involved in. So everything about his life, everything he’s ever done was mostly a lie and meant for him to awaken to Phi Brain. If that doesn’t mentally break someone and put them on the edge, nothing else will. Damn you, Rook!!! You’re pure evil!!

Well this episode is a shocker. Credit to Kaito’s “parents” for loving him as their own. And they weren’t even his real parents. And to top it all off, he’s an orphan. It was hard to believe after seeing the part where they were observing him like a test subject and that they were part of P.O.G. I don’t know what to think of this show now after these revelations. It’s just epic to describe.

I can’t wait to finally see this Count Pythagoras in action. I’m curious. He must be really evil if he can cause so much damage behind the scenes and through Rook’s treachery. If he can do all that, imagine what he’s capable of once he’s front and center in the story.

I heard there’s a second season closely on the way. I’ve never heard of an anime, let alone a 25 episode anime being sequeled so quickly. It must be really popular. I won’t be able to wait once this season ends. If that’s the case, I want another season of Ao no Exorcist, Ben-To and Toaru Majutsu no Index.

I’m amazed Kaito didn’t go berserk again. If the Principal didn’t tell him his parents loved him, he probably would have, I suppose. It’s pretty dark and deep for a show about puzzles, isn’t it? My impressions of this show seem to change every episode.

Count Pythagoras looks like an old fogey…I just want Rook to keep doing what he’s doing XD ROOK IN SEASON 2 AS THE SLIGHTLY MENTALLY-DISTURBED BEST FRIEND, YES PLEASE!

Yeah, Icon appreciation is a perfect way to say it. I knew Karakuri would recognize the character in my avatar. Must have been the brand on her chest. Her name is Tsukimiya from the Bloody Cross manga. A Vampire/Angel hybrid who drinks demon blood. You should check it out.

It’s safe to say the truth pretty much affected the viewer as much as the main character. Anything could have happened whether the Principle told him anything or not. Yeah, it’s dark. Then again, so was Yu-Gi-Oh and the main theme was a card game and we’ve seen how well and dark that turned out to be. It’s like you can never keep the same opinion everytime another episode comes along.

If he turns out to be an old fogey, we still shouldn’t underestimate him because old people still have a lot of wisdom and tricks up their sleeves. I doubt Rook will keep the same pace. He’ll eventually escalate and make the other puzzles even more dangerous. I guess he’s the Count’s apprentice since they kept him locked up and under surveillance until he became P.O.G’s second in command.

Season 0 of Yu-Gi-Oh! was really dark! And I guess the original version before 4Kids ruined everything (you know…people dying?). Phi Brain will always remind me of Yu-Gi-Oh!…

I think Rook will keep making things harder too. Or maybe take a more hands on approach and face Kaito directly as a Giver. We’ll see. I wonder if the Count was the one who abused Rook when he was little?

The Principal really neglected him. I don’t think they even live in the same house, or interact with each other except at school. :/ His POG parents were better.

Kaito is a pretty emotional guy, but you’d think a guy who makes a living solving puzzles would use some common sense =_= Think to ask “but you’re not evil, right?” or something. The evil ones always admit they’re evil in this show because they’re proud of it.

I really hope he treats his friends nicely in the second season 2. Or at least accepts their existence

Not my favorite episode, but I like the fact that we are tying up some loose threads. I’m hoping that the first season will end with some actual conclusion. That preview pic looks like a rescued Jin may be a character for season 2, so I guess we are building up for the rescue of Jin in the remaining episodes.